The present disclosure relates generally to methods for managing entity profiles and application launching in software applications. In particular, methods for enabling a user to switch entity profiles within one or more software applications are described.
Modern software applications provide many tools and conveniences to businesses (also referred to herein more broadly as entities, which may encompass other types of units). One category of software known as Software-As-A-Service (“SAAS”) applications enables a user or multiple authorized users to log into hosted applications and perform tasks. Of course, software applications beyond SAAS applications are in common use by businesses and serve to enable any number of authorized users to conduct business with the applications.
Historically, the visual output of software applications targets a single business and the users are affiliated with that business. Business data has been stored in local files or repositories specific to a single business. Targeting the visual output of a software application to a business provides many efficiencies and conveniences. For example, data corresponding to the business can be readily accessed by the application, enabling the data to be conveniently utilized by the application without a user needing to laboriously and potentially inaccurately enter the data each time the data corresponding to the business is needed.
A problem arises, however, when a given user must access and use applications on behalf of multiple businesses. For example, an accountant may need to use an accounting application for multiple business clients. As another example, an executive affiliated with more than one business may need to use business applications on behalf each business with which he is affiliated.
Known methods for people to utilize applications on behalf of multiple businesses are not entirely satisfactory. For example, existing methods require the user to maintain separate login credentials for each business and login credentials are prone to be lost and/or forgotten. Further, known methods require the user to separately enter login credentials whenever the user wants to switch company profiles, which quickly becomes tedious and interrupts work flow.
Another known method is to provide separate application pages with distinct application addresses for each business. However, this method is also undesirable as it requires a user to remember a separate application address for each company and/or to store separate shortcuts for each business-application combination.
In addition, conventional methods do not readily or conveniently store session information corresponding to the user's current software session using one business profile when switching to use the software with another business profile. Moreover, existing methods do not provide means for conveniently loading data corresponding to the user's prior software session with a given business profile loaded when the user desires to switch back to that business profile.
Another shortcoming of known methods for utilizing applications with different business profiles is that data intended for one business can be inadvertently entered for another business by mistake. This cross-contamination problem can arise when a user utilizes the application in a first instance with a first business profile loaded and opens a separate instance of the application with a second business profile loaded. If the user returns to the first instance, she may inadvertently store data for the first business in the second business' data.
Thus, there exists a need for methods for managing entity profiles within software applications that improve upon and advance the design of known methods. Examples of methodologies related and relevant to the methodologies described herein are discussed in the inventor's copending patent application entitled Methods And Systems For Switching Between Software Applications, filed on Mar. 15, 2013. Examples of new and useful methods relevant to the needs existing in the field are discussed below.